Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 6.9% in January

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAIGet Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the December 31st total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price target on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Kadant

Kadant Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE KAI traded up $1.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $366.92. 12,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,723. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $370.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56 and a beta of 1.29. Kadant has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Kadant news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 68.6% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Company Profile

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Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.

Further Reading

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